Ryan Adams Unveils New Band and Songs During London Benefit Concert

A new, "more orchestral" album is reportedly on the way

Ryan Adams is back, which, Adams being Adams, means he’s back in abundance. The singer-songwriter and former Whiskeytown frontman just announced one new band, the punk-oriented Pornography, which is prepping a seven-song release for Record Store Day on April 20. Earlier this week at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Adams played with another one, marking his first show with a backing group since 2009.

According to Billboard‘s sources, Adams has a new album on the way, too. Reuniting him with producer Glyn Johns, who has worked with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the record is described as having “more orchestral flourishes” than 2011’s Ashes & Fire. For what it’s worth, Billboard says “there’s talk” that the album will feature Adams’ five-piece backing hand from the London show, which included seasoned vets like keyboardist Benmonth Tench and bassist Don Was.

Adams also performed two new songs at the London show, “When I Meet You in My Mind” and “In the Shadows.” U.K. tabloid The Mirror reports that the first “wouldn’t have been out of place” on the previous album. “In the Shadows” was reportedly “very different, more uptempo and electric and with a horror movie storyline.” Unfortunately, neither song has emerged online at press time.

What has surfaced, as you can see from the fan footage above, is a one-off goof called “Loaf of Bread.” Inspired, according to The Mirror, when Adams misheard a fan’s request as being that title, the track reinforced just why Adams has been such a steady font of creativity over the years. On the spot, he was able to improvise a complete-sounding song that rhymes “they bit the dust” with “cut off the crust.”

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